Thunder Results
April 22nd, 1998.
Live/Taped: Live.
Length: Two Hours+.
Location: Columbia, South Carolina.
Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Lee Marshall.
In the opening hype segment, Tony Schiavone accuses Bret "Hitman" Hart of
stabbing the WCW fans in the back.
"Hollywood" Hogan wastes no time in coming to the ring, accompanied by Eric
Bischoff and the Disciple. Bischoff hands the Disciple a can of that stuff
he uses to color his hair. With it, the Disciple reapplies "NWO" to the
face of the belt. Bischoff crows about the ratings Hogan got this past
Monday, showing that while we Internet fans are interested in them, he
LIVES by them. Hogan claims that Randy Savage is now officially retired
from wrestling.
A clip of Hogan challenging Savage to the big match on Nitro is played.
After the commercial break they play Savage's acceptance of the challenge.
DISCO INFERNO vs. BOOKER T.
Mr. T. thoroughly dismantles Disco Inferno early in the match. Disco comes
back by faking a knee injury, suckering Booker into a trap. From there it
swings back-and-forth until Booker T. nails a missile drop-kick and covers
for the pin.
During the above match the announcers bury Bret Hart, clearly establishing
him as a heel. Schiavone also mentions that Elizabeth suffered a neck
injury at the PPV.
Nitro next week will be split into two parts: "Monday Nitro" will air from
12:30 AM to 1:30 AM (Eastern) after the NBA Playoff games. "Tuesday Nitro"
will air on Tuesday night from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Eastern). In other
words, both shows will be taped starting at 8:00 PM Monday night as the NBA
games are airing. The first hour will be shown later that night, while the
second and third hours will be shown the next night. This is obviously
being done to salvage some ratings, as the original plan called for WCW to
air one hour of Nitro before the playoff games, then the next two hours
after.
Clips from the Hogan/Savage match are shown.
THE BARBARIAN (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. PRINCE IAUKEA
Gee, wasn't Iaukea a title contender just three nights ago? The Barbarian
pounds him into a thin puddle of goo.
A clip from Raven vs. DDP at the PPV is shown. Schiavone then announces
that the entire Goldberg title win will be replayed on WCW Saturday Night.
More Nitro clips. I'm just going to stop mentioning these, as WCW seems
intent on airing these before and after just about every commercial break.
BUFF BAGWELL/SCOTT NORTON (w/ Vincent) vs. LEX LUGER/RICK STEINER
This one comes to an end when Scott Steiner comes out and nails his brother
Rick with a chair. Bagwell, who had just been bulldogged by Steiner,
manages to drape an arm over and get the pin. After the match, and
subsequent commercial, Bagwell is still down in the ring. A replay of the
bulldog shows Bagwell's head get snapped back when it hits Steiner's back.
Bobby Heenan leaves the announcing booth to get an update. Bagwell can be
seen talking and moving.
Unable to do a match just yet, they play footage from Hogan's title win.
Midway through the footage Schiavone passes on that the doctors say Bagwell
is starting to get some movement and feeling back.
They show some more footage from Raven vs. DDP, focusing on the involvement
of the newest member of the Flock. Mike Tenay reveals that he is indeed
Horace Boulder.
HORACE BOULDER vs. EVAN COURAGEOUS
The match only goes for a minute or so before DDP runs in and attacks
Horace. DDP also lays out the ref with a Diamond Cutter. He gets on the mic
and challenges Raven to come out and fight. Raven refuses, even though Page
brings up Raven's sister and mother.
Schiavone interviews Randy Savage. Savage really lays into Bret Hart,
calling him a "con man", accusing him of being overpaid and calling him
"the biggest mark for your own press!" He says he's sick of hearing Hart
whine, and places him in the number one spot on his hit list.
They play a Bill Goldberg video.
BILL GOLDBERG vs. MIKE ENOS
Next.
STING vs. SCOTT STEINER (w/ Vincent)
Schiavone gives a final update on Bagwell's condition, saying it looks like
he'll be fine. Sting had Scott Steiner beat with the Scorpion Deathlock,
but then Konan ran in, causing the DQ. Scott Norton came in as well. Rick
Steiner came out and chased his brother off. The Giant then came out to
help Sting. Sting closed out the show by making comments about Kevin Nash.
Sting challenges Nash and Scott Hall to a World Tag Team Title match
against he and the Giant at Slamboree.
Next Monday: Nothing announced.
Next week: Thunder isn't on the next two weeks.
Comments:
A seriously poor show from a pure wrestling standpoint. Prince Iaukea was
the only cruiserweight on the show and he got squashed in a minute. The
only compelling part of the show was Bagwell's injury. The whole show
pretty much served to repeat what happened with Bret Hart on Monday, then
didn't pay off at all because Hart wasn't on. The show wasn't good, it
wasn't bad, it just ... was.